AppLovin asks a California court to stop Unity's Ad Quality SDK collecting its ad data

AppLovin says a free Unity tool built into mobile games has been gathering data on the ads it serves and using it to train rival models. Unity calls the filing intimidation by a dominant incumbent.

AI-drafted from 1 source. This story was written with AI from the outside reporting listed under Sources, and checked by automated tools before it went up. The originals have the full detail.

Two of the biggest names in mobile game advertising are in court over a piece of software that sits inside other people's games. AppLovin has applied for a temporary restraining order in California against Unity, over data collected through Unity's Ad Quality SDK. PocketGamer.biz reported the filing on 1 October, crediting Digiday with the first report.

It matters to small mobile studios because they are the ones who ship these SDKs. A developer who earns from ads typically builds in code from the ad companies, and what that code observes is the subject of the dispute.

What AppLovin alleges

According to the report, AppLovin says Unity's SDK has collected data about ads that AppLovin won and served, “including data on creatives, users, devices, revenue, and engagement”. It also claims Unity used that information to help train models that compete with AppLovin's advertising business.

AppLovin is asking the court to:

• stop Unity collecting or using what the filing defines as “Protected Data”;
• have the relevant data collection turned off within five business days;
• have changes made to the Ad Quality SDK within 30 days.

It has also started arbitration against Unity over the wider dispute, with claims of breach of contract, trade secret misappropriation and unfair competition.

What Unity says

Unity describes Ad Quality as “a small, free product” that helps keep inappropriate and harmful ads out of games, and says it will oppose the application. A spokesperson told PocketGamer.biz: “AppLovin’s legal filings against us are a classic case of a dominant incumbent resorting to litigation and intimidation to address increased competition and slowing growth.”

Unity also argues that AppLovin's own Ad Review product, formerly SafeDK, is “far more intrusive”. AppLovin rejects the comparison. It says Ad Review is used for ad moderation and only works on impressions that pass through its MAX mediation platform, not to build user profiles or models.

On the suggestion that the SDK explains its recent ad results, Unity's spokesperson said: “In reality, Ad Quality isn’t the driver of our improved performance, so they’ll be frustrated in that attempt regardless of how this suit is adjudicated.”

What a developer should take from it

Nothing has been decided, and neither company has said that studios need to do anything. But the orders AppLovin wants include changes to the SDK itself inside 30 days. If a court granted that, the code in question is code that developers have compiled into their own apps, so it is worth knowing whether Ad Quality is in your build and watching for an update notice from Unity.

The wider point holds whoever wins. Each advertising SDK added to a game can see more than its own ads, and two companies with every reason to know are now arguing in public about how much.

Sources

• AppLovin takes legal action against Unity over Ad Quality SDK (PocketGamer.biz)

Image: Illustration: AI-generated for Gaming World